Update at last! So for the record, Piko calls Iroha "Ha" in this for short. It's a way of showing their closeness

Piko froze. Iroha's cat-stare caught his gaze, and the boy could do nothing but meet those watchful eyes. Piko noticed the quick flash of emotion across Iroha's face before she stoned her features to a death stare. When their eyes met, she actually looked sad, guilty about what was to come. Piko wanted to reach out and console her, but she raised one speaker-glove to his head before he could even lift a finger.

"You will come without struggle. Master wishes for your return. You know that you must accept this fate or else." Iroha did not need to say what the "or else" meant; Piko knew deep inside no one could run away without the severe consequences. Iroha knew he would take the responsibility far too willingly, but nothing could be changed.

Gakupo shoved aside the speaker from Piko and stood between Iroha and Piko, arms spread out protectively. "Who are you, and why are you here?" he questioned the strange girl with a growl. The last thing Gakupo planned to do was allow a random girl wearing a belated Halloween costume to take Piko away.

"You should be asking Piko those questions. Have you never once thought about what he is? Have you never noticed his unusual body condition? I bet you do not know anything but his first name, Mr. Kamui." Gakupo gasped in surprise hearing the other know his name, but nothing should have really surprised him by that point. "If you were foolish enough to think this boy would cause you no hassle then you are severely mistaken and deserve to have him taken away. That 'boy' is not even human; none of us really are. Return him to our care at once!" Iroha ordered showing her small fangs to the male in a snarl.

Piko pushed Gakupo to the side and stood beside Iroha. "He does not have to 'return' me. I can choose to go by myself," came Piko's calm response. Two-toned eyes glossed-over with tears, but none shed. Piko would not show any weakness at such an important moment. "I have had my taste of freedom. Master may delete those memories, but at least I will have still had them; I will have the feelings in a part of my core he cannot reprogrammed. Iroha... I am happy to see you unharmed. If only we could have left together." Piko's eyes were soft when he spoke, lingering on the floor and avoided contact with the others in the shaking cart.

Gakupo looked up from the seat he was pushed into and glanced at Piko with wounded eyes. The violette only met Piko a few days prior, but he wanted a lifetime filled with Piko. A few days may not be exactly enough to fall "in love" in the most romantic sense, but it was enough to fall in love with an idea- the idea of finding someone beautiful inside-out that made the most simple of moments worthwhile. Gakupo loved Piko's genuine smile and his innocent eyes. The man barely knew Piko, but that did not mean he could not want to love Piko is a passionate way. Gakupo had kept in his heart in a tight cocoon for years, but around the mysterious boy it fluttered and grew too big for its confinement like a butterfly. Gakupo's heart hardly experienced the wonders of the endless Field of Love; it was barely more than a caterpillar with wings trying to awkwardly learn to fly. The violette may not have felt like the few days together were enough to marry or make love with the unusual boy, but they provided a blossoming flower for his heart's tiny wings to land on for nourishment and mutual growth. Why only after that heart-stealing kiss that sent the butterflies in his stomach soaring did things have to go awry? Why did a new someone have to take his growing heart and tear off its fluttering wings?

How could one stranger take away the one person Gakupo allowed in his heart? Why would God mock him and send him an angel just to have him snatched away by a cat-devil? Why did Piko willingly walk to the stranger? When did Piko stop seeming like a stranger, and leave such a strong impact on Gakupo? Could Piko not have felt anything near what Gakupo felt in their time together? Was Gakupo he only one of the two to let himself slip into the arms of love and companionship? Gakupo wanted to ask all he questions in his head, but Piko already knowingly answered.

"It was a mistake from the beginning," the boy said with a small crack in his voice. "You... We... I understand now that we should have never met. I am so sorry, Mister Gakupo. Thank you for your endless kindness." Piko finally met Gakupo's eyes and frowned even more. His lips quivered and his eyes had to snap shut to keep in any threatening tears. "I love you so much. I love you too much to let you get hurt for showing me a few days of happiness." Piko leaned over the man and kissed the messy bangs covering his forehead. After the long day violet strands scattered all over the older male's face, but Piko dared not to tuck them away in fear that as he did so he would lean in for the man's lush lips and then never want to leave. Piko needed to steel himself to face the life he once knew. "Forget all about me, Gakupo."

Iroha's harsh features fell and frowned despondently. Piko should have fought more and defended himself; he had more strength and power than she did. Piko could use his tail and completely fry her system to a crisp or snap her entirely with his voice or anything. Iroha knew why he remained passive, of course, and she hated him for it. Piko was protecting both Iroha and Gakupo by coming without struggle. She wanted to forfeit her obedient nature and escape just as Piko had, but that would only lead to Master hiring someone else to get him, someone more ruthless and less kind. Piko and Iroha could do nothing but surrender.

"Utatane!" she barked out receding a speaker to grab his hand. "Come now. The firemen have arrived and will rescue those trapped in the ferris wheel. I will hold onto your tail as you slide down and follow shortly," she explained. Iroha burst more glass open from the window to accommodate Piko's larger frame. She wrapped his tail around her waist and waited for him to step out.

Piko knew what to do and wordlessly obeyed. Careful to avoid the glass, Piko hopped out of the cart. Gakupo gasped and reached out to grab him, but was stopped by Iroha.

"We must return, Mister Kamui. If I fail my mission, Master will dismantle me and send another that will kill you before retrieving Piko. Piko… Piko knows this already and is protecting us. Please do not ask questions about who we are. His real name is Piko Utatane, but do not look him up from any place with a traceable network. I will do all I can so that no one will pursue you. If anyone asks, tell them that his sister came to get him. That is as close to the truth as you can tell them," she instructed in a voice between demanding and concerning before softening. "Thank you for being kind to him. You are a fool to let a stranger into your life so easily, but I cannot say he has been that happy in years. I can only hate you for giving him a piece of something he will never have again. Move on and have a good life, Sir."

Iroha left as quickly as she came, but with an extra passenger accompanying her. She pointed her speakers down to Ride the Sound waves safely to be bottom and undid Piko's cord from her waist. Once unknotted the tail receded back to the default length. Iroha knew she could not Ride the Sound with Piko on her back without being seen, so she grabbed his arm and dragged him behind a ride. Only a few lights were on from a back-up generator and the firetruck. Instead of screaming for help most people began screaming for joy at their being rescued. Thankfully everyone was too distracted to notice Piko's and Iroha's unorthodox descent. People scrambled out to the ground the second the rescue carts went low enough.

Iroha's eyes were transfixed on the wary people. Her eyes glossed with guilt thinking all their fears were because of her. Piko noticed that rare sad look and spoke up to distract his friend. "Will he kill me?" Piko whispered while they hid. A horrible way to start a conversation, but it was the first thing to come out; he had been worried for months about what would happen, after all.

"What? No!" Iroha snapped out. "Master would never be so merciful. You... What he has in store for you... I never asked. I never wanted to think about what tortures you would be put through." Iroha silenced herself and kept her breathing shallow. No one would likely find them, but her heart was too energized to try calming down. She rested her head on Piko's shoulder and mumbled something that would have gone unheard if not for Piko's trained ears.

"Don't apologize. It doesn't suit you. Cats are supposed to just do as they please and look too cute to be mad about it later. You suck at being cute, you know." For emphasis on his point he wrapped an arm around Iroha and pinched a cheek playfully. The smile on his face and his small giggle almost sounded genuine. Almost.

Iroha shoved Piko away and glared. Her pinched cheeks reddened, but only partly from the pinch itself. "You are so foolish! Cats are fierce and cunning!" she huffed out still trying to leep her voice low. "I truly do not know why I missed you. You are nothing but trouble. You are also annoying. And you are foolish! And-and-"

"And family. We are family, Iroha. I'm sorry I ever left, but only because I wish I could have taken you with me. I love you, Ha, but I felt... I love Gakupo. I love him differently than I did my parents and how I do with you. I love him even differently and more than Her."

The statement took Iroha off guard. The cat-themed warrior knew Piko had strong feelings for the man that took him in, but no one was more important than her. She was the cause of all their misfortune, but also their reason to live. Freedom affected Piko more than Iroha or Master would have ever assumed.

"Piko," Iroha finally uttered once she regained control of her jaw, "You know you can never speak such things. Master trusts me enough not to monitor my surroundings, but he could always find a way to hear you!"

"Hear me or not, I speak and know the truth. Master is nothing but a liar. We are pawns to him. We are a means to an end. We are nothing but the byproducts to Her. I had a dream, Ha. I had a dream from my childhood the day he killed my parents and took me. I remembered in my dream being happy and loving them so much, and then having nothing to live for but you and a Her. When I was on the streets, I was all alone, but for the first time I had my "self." And when I had that bittersweet dream, Gakupo was the one that held me and made me feel better. I know that the true way to live life is through freedom and the one you love. I have no freedom by obeying Master and Her, nor do I love. I hate Her, Ha."

Iroha stood up and hovered over Piko. "She is not to blame, Piko. You just would not understand. She is a victim in this, and even Master. She is all that keeps us alive."

"And what a dead life we live."

Neither said anything more. Piko stood up as well and stoned his face like Iroha had already. Their brief moments of adolescent folly were tarnished under the existence of reality. The brief and rare smile of Iroha faded into that of memories, and Piko knew his own smile followed. Everyone was off the rides and the park was shutting down early. Piko couldn't have been able to find Gakupo even if he wanted or tried. All that was left was to leave and face his fate.

"You may still be able to run fast and I can Ride the Sound, but that is too likely to draw attention. I will call for one of Master's drivers to come for us. The UTAU models have developed many different motor skills since you last saw them. They were never and will never be human, but they can speak and work now."

Piko just shrugged and looked at the sky. "So those leftover scraps of corpses and metal think now? Makes being human almost overrated. I bet those artificial creatures will never understand the beauties of the natural world."

"And you do?" Iroha asked calmly with her eyes at the stars.

A bitter laugh escaped Piko's pink lips. "No one but God knows. At least humans know for themselves that there are beauties never to be understood in the world. Like why one star has to shine brightest only beside bunches of smaller dim ones. Like that one," he said pointing at the obnoxiously bright star away from the moon and near only dim lights. "One can decide through science why the stars burn and the ways of human perception and deception interpret the brightness, but an UTAU won't understand the simple joy of seeing he stars in all their various lights and how each one struggles to be a little brighter than the rest."

"Sounds like you know star thoughts pretty well," Iroha commented mindfully.

"Of course not. I can only see and observe, like any good robot. I just wanted to make example of how the nature of the world are much like the nature of human. People fight hard and wish to succeed, but in the end," he paused pointing at a duller star next to the bright one that began to shoot downward, "We burn up and fall. We all were once fighting stars, bright and strong, only to end up burning ourselves to our own demise as falling meteors, never to get back up."

"Let us keep our head out of the clouds and on the ground, Piko. Your little metaphor was pointless and rude. The UTAUs are no less human than we are," Iroha scolded somewhat softly. "Regardless of your words, I believe some of those burnt-up, fallen meteors can reach for the high heavens to the stars once more. Humans have that knack for shining brightest in the darkest places or in the most unlikely situations. Let them rise up, and we can support them from the earth. After all, we once-humans are not meant to reach the heavens like Humans are, so the least we can do is help them up."

"Yes, I understand. At least pick one of the better UTAUs to retrieve us," the snowy-haired boy requested to his companion. Neither had anything left to say aloud. The boy and girl had to grow used to keeping their thoughts in their head, after all.

'I guess even going as high as the top of the ferris wheel couldn't get me up to heaven. The higher I went meant the more I fell.'

*Meteors*

"Are you okay, sir?" one of the firemen asked while they looked around to see the shattered glass everywhere. Gakupo have them a nod, and they nodded back. "We're going to get you out of here. You'll be safe on the ground in no time."

The door to the cart opened and the firefighters escorted Gakupo down as they had all the rest. Being at the very top, he was the last one to get off the ride.

Gumi and Ryuto waited with pursed and worried lips. Gumi was wringing her hands trying to hold off her panic while Ryuto cried and sniffled. When they finally saw their brother the two rushed after him in a giant hug.

"I-I'm so sorry, brother! Was it scary? Did it take a long time? Did you have any 'accidents'? Are your clothes still clean? Want me to get a taxi home? Want some food or water? Any of those men touch you weirdly? Anything that I can help you wit- Where is Piko?" she finally asked after a long stream of questions Gakupo could hardly answer.

"His… sister came to get him. She was worried and demanded he come home."

"Oh, um, okay." Gumi said with some hesitance. While she could understand any sister's worry, it would have nice of she let him say goodbye. Piko was something special. She wanted to see him again. "So, um, will he come back anytime soon?"

Gakupo shook his head and refused to tell his sister a verbal answer. If he spoke anymore it would be like reverting to his puberty years with his voice cracking. Gakupo merely took Gumi and Ryuto both into a gentle hug when and released a few tears on their shoulder. No one spoke.

Mizki and Yumi rushed by when they saw the trio hugging. The two waited until the embrace ended before making their presence known. Both looked at the family curiously wondering what happened.

"Are you all okay? Please tell me you weren't on any rides when the power went out! You look so distressed," Mizki noticed instinctively with her slight "mother hen" nature.

"Just Gakupo in the ferris wheel. We'll be fine," Gumi answered

"Huh? Then where's Piko? Wouldn't he want make sure Gakupo got out alright?" Yuma asked with a cross of curiosity and resentment. Although his jaw definitely throbbed in pain, Yuma would take any excuse to see Piko. The man would willingly take 1000 Gakupo punches for a 1 Piko kiss.

"He weft wif his swister. We won't see him 'til wayter. Broder is sad he gone now," Ryuto commented sadly. "I miss him awready, too."

Yuma ruffled Ryuto's hair and flashed a smile at him. "Don't worry about it, kiddo. We can see him again later. Gakupo and I will make sure you see him again, right, Gakukins?"

Gakupo shot the man death glare and sneakily pushed Ryuto away from him. "Yes," he bit out holding in his emotions, "As soon as he can, I'll have him come over. We can play games and use Yuma as Target Practice."

"Hey!" Yuma exclaimed, but Mizki, Gumi and Ryuto all laughed. Gakupo wanted to join them, but not even bothering Yuma would ebb his sorrow and confusion. Everything about what happened at the top of the ferris wheel was wrong, and Gakupo wanted nothing more than to figure out what happened and why.

Gakupo broke the laughter around him with a cough and sigh. "I think I'll catch a ride home alone. Stop by anytime, Gumi, Ryuto. I just … I had a long day. Have fun and take care." Gakupo gave his two siblings a kiss on the cheek and even bid the other two siblings a good night. Gakupo felt his eyes water again as he walked off alone, but he refused to shed any more tears. He would go home and start researching more on who exactly "Piko Utatane" is, or was.

"Jeez, he's such a mood killer. No wonder we never got along," Yuma duly noted watching the violette leave.

"Oh? Did you not get along before or after he rejected your attempts at wooing him?" Gumi taunted with a smirk.

"Definitely during. I really liked his butt before he totally blew me off –not to say it's not still nice. He used to so be my type," Yuma sighed. "Apparently even with a face like mine he wouldn't let me take him out to dinner. All these years and I never saw him even crack a smile! Piko really changed him. He's more aggressive with me because he doesn't want me around the little cutie, but I can still tell he's gotten softer."

Gumi's smile fell and nodded. "That's for sure. Piko didn't really change him as much as revert him. It's like he's back how he was a few years ago before the break up. It's sad that you two would have been good friends if you hadn't met him right after all that drama from before... And if you weren't such a cheesy playboy." Gumi sighed again and casted her gaze downward. She soon recovered her senses when she saw Ryuto's mindful look and forced a new smile. "Not that it's something I can discuss with 'widdle Ryuto' around," she teased grabbing his cheeks.

"He-hey! No fair. I is owd enough! Gumi!"

The three older ones laughed and crowded over Ryuto, teasing him for his consistent unintentional cuteness. Ryuto knew his poor cheeks would have a long night ahead of him. At least Piko had never fondled him!

*Meteors*

Gakupo lay on his bed awake. No lights were on, and he hadn't even stripped down to his normal sleepwear. Nights of sudden insomnia weren't new to the violet-haired man, but he's never been kept up by the pure anguish in his heart, not for several years at least. When tossing and turning and thinking proved to only make him feel worse, he figured a good drink would at least hell sleep come his way. Unlike the other way around where Kaito would call at ungodly hours five hundred times until he picked up, Gakupo found himself reaching for his cellphone and ringing up his annoying blunette friend.

"Heyo! Len speaking. Kaito's in the shower, what can I do ya for?"

Gakupo froze at the voice. The violette normally avoided Len at all cost, but that had to end sooner than later, he guessed. "Ah, Len. Would you, um, tell Kaito to call me back."

"What? No way! I have not heard from you in forever, Gakupo. Please don't hang up!"

"Len, now really isn't the best time. I wanted to ask Kaito to go drinking with me because I feel like shit right now and talking to you doesn't normally help that feeling go away." It was cold, but Gakupo had no patience nor care.

"Oh … Alright, Gakupo. I'll, uh, tell him. Maybe we can talk later?"Gakupo wanted to destroy the hopefulness in that voice, but he couldn't. Len still hadn't hung up, so Gakupo answered.

"Yeah. Maybe… Maybe that would be good. Talk to you later, I guess. Tell Kaito to meet me at the usual place."

Len was the one to hang up first. That had been the first time the two had spoken in years, but Gakupo did not mind as much as thought he would. If anything, maybe talking to Len is exactly what he needed to do to feel better. Still, he wanted a beer, and talking to anyone about anything was not on his list of things to do that night.

*Meteors*

Sweat mixed with the tear falling down Piko's face. Master had left the room, but that did not mean he could not still torture the boy. The man said nothing to Piko when Iroha returned him, but the cruelty in his eyes told Piko everything. The defiant look in he snowy-haired boy's eyes only made the torture all the worse, but Piko still regretted nothing.

Wires held Piko upside-down onto a wall only by going through his ankles. The wires sent jolt after jolt of high electrical doses circulating in his body. Every moment triggered a new surge of pain, and every surge of pain got worse. Of course Master would not go through the trouble of finding Piko to kill him, so he was careful to only make Piko suffer, not die. Master left him alone for what could have been decades in the deliriously pained Piko brain, but only a few hours passed.

"You have stopped with your screaming," a robotic voice noted out loud. "Should I ask Master to increase the voltage?"

Piko grunted in anger and pain. Talking to UTAU normally was not something he took joy in, and even slightly moving his lips to speak made the pain worse.

"Shut … up."

"Shut what up? Should I make the wires holding you up more tightly shut?"

Piko was about to yell back in fury, but he heard a call sound through the room. The UTAU's arm apparently was a cellphone, and she picked it up nonchalantly.

"Master? UTAU Teto speaking. … Let the rogue go where? … As you wish," she answered before he hung up. She turned to Piko and pressed the "Release" button.

Piko fell hard with a thud. His ankles were bleeding where the gapping holes were, but he still stood up. Staggering, he approached Teto. "What … now?"

"Master wishes for you to see Hernow. You are to be reminded why you exist. Come along." She didn't ask him and hooked a shock collar on him. His legs throbbed so much that he literally was dragged down the white corridors to see Her because walking so much with holes in your legs just did not work.

Like most rooms the room that contained Her was mostly white, but with wires out from all walls of the room connected to a girl's body in the center. She lay like a cadaver, motionless and emotionless. While some faces contorted and signified what they felt in dreams, Her face was blank and voided of any significant life not even an eyebrow twitched.

She was clad in a short white dress with electric blue markings open to the wires around Her. She had red-pink hair that was scattered to her lower back, never to be cut. Her skin was as pale as the white of her dress with no blemished save for her joints. Her knees, elbows, neck and even the fingers had stitch marks and looked like the joints of a puppet doll. In truth she was a puppet, but She had to be respected and adored like a Goddess.

Piko hated Her.

"Are you rekindled with love and respect now?" Teto asked likely not even knowing what the feeling of love and respect were like.

"No," Piko said curtly. "She should have died long ago, and should die now. We should hate Her. I hate Miki."

And this chapter was a butt. So many emotions from sad, hurt, wishful, cheerful, confused, cute, anger/resentment, and etc. I hope I got all of it across well without smearing the lines in weird ways. I really do just adore Iroha. And are some of these answered about to be questioned? Are the questions getting more questions? Stay tuned to find out! Hahaha! Hopefully now that it's summer I can stress less and work more on this story. Miki finally showed up and I debate going you all a spoiler on who she is. Aw, well. Len is finally here, too! And Teto. ... Man, I HATE Teto. Seriously. And Miki. Hate 'em both.

Reviews are AWESOME and I hope this satisfies you overly-patient minds!